I headed downstairs and out the front of the hotel. The Friendship Store was directly across the
street. In China though, you can't walk "just" across the street. I had to walk down the street, over the overpass and back down the street to the store. It was the same as 20 years ago, and memories came back riding my pink and purple 10-speed bike down the overpass ramps. The Friendship Store was China's version of a Fred Meyer without the produce. You could buy anything Chinese there: housewares, candy, Chinese souvenirs, clothes, school supplies and anything cheap! I wanted to see the store, but also wanted to buy a "rice patty" bag that China is famous for. If you travel in Asia, you see these red, white and blue striped bags and tarps from China, that are very cheap but can hold a lot of stuff. I wanted to buy one to check for the way home. 20 years ago the Friendship Store had them. I walked up to the Friendship Store with my mouth gaping. I saw the old sign, written in English and Chinese. But under that sign I saw Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Valentino and other high-end brands that I didn't even recognize. I enter the store and there are 5 women lined up on either side of me to welcome me into the store. There are glass cases that hold purses, jewelry and makeup. This was NOT the store I knew of 20 years ago! I was thoroughly disappointed! I continued up the escalator in this air-conditioned store, thinking 20 years ago they had neither. I walked around amazed at the things they had. There was a NIKE section that I wandered into, thinking items could be a lot cheaper since there was a NIKE factory just down the street. I was wrong, items were similarly priced. I wandered up to the Chinese souvenir section. I remembered 20 years ago buying a silk screen at the Friendship Store. On the silk screen was a grey kitten playing with a pink ball of yarn. I still have that silk screen, tucked away in a box some where. I remember paying about $10 for it, thinking it was expensive and I would get in trouble for spending that much of my babysitting money on one thing. I found a similar silk screen today... $435!!!! I wandered outside of the store, hoping to find a small store that would carry the cheap rice patty bags, but I was unsuccessful. I did find another Kentucky Friend Chicken and Starbucks though! It's amazing how Americanized this city has become!
street. In China though, you can't walk "just" across the street. I had to walk down the street, over the overpass and back down the street to the store. It was the same as 20 years ago, and memories came back riding my pink and purple 10-speed bike down the overpass ramps. The Friendship Store was China's version of a Fred Meyer without the produce. You could buy anything Chinese there: housewares, candy, Chinese souvenirs, clothes, school supplies and anything cheap! I wanted to see the store, but also wanted to buy a "rice patty" bag that China is famous for. If you travel in Asia, you see these red, white and blue striped bags and tarps from China, that are very cheap but can hold a lot of stuff. I wanted to buy one to check for the way home. 20 years ago the Friendship Store had them. I walked up to the Friendship Store with my mouth gaping. I saw the old sign, written in English and Chinese. But under that sign I saw Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Valentino and other high-end brands that I didn't even recognize. I enter the store and there are 5 women lined up on either side of me to welcome me into the store. There are glass cases that hold purses, jewelry and makeup. This was NOT the store I knew of 20 years ago! I was thoroughly disappointed! I continued up the escalator in this air-conditioned store, thinking 20 years ago they had neither. I walked around amazed at the things they had. There was a NIKE section that I wandered into, thinking items could be a lot cheaper since there was a NIKE factory just down the street. I was wrong, items were similarly priced. I wandered up to the Chinese souvenir section. I remembered 20 years ago buying a silk screen at the Friendship Store. On the silk screen was a grey kitten playing with a pink ball of yarn. I still have that silk screen, tucked away in a box some where. I remember paying about $10 for it, thinking it was expensive and I would get in trouble for spending that much of my babysitting money on one thing. I found a similar silk screen today... $435!!!! I wandered outside of the store, hoping to find a small store that would carry the cheap rice patty bags, but I was unsuccessful. I did find another Kentucky Friend Chicken and Starbucks though! It's amazing how Americanized this city has become! 
I walked back over the overpass and from the top of it, admired The Garden Hotel to my left. I looked right, right across the street from The Garden Hotel and spotted another Starbucks! This one was huge, two stories! I ventured inside since I hadn't eaten anything yet today. And after my questionable dinner last night, I was famished! Starbucks would be a sure thing! AND I was able to buy my city mug! I ordered my typical white chocolate americano, breakfast and a mug. I sat down upstairs and planned out the rest of my day. It was 11am, and I had to be at the train station at 5pm.
Back at the hotel, I walked up to the General Manager's desk. The previous night, I had learned that the garden AND the pool are both closed for maintenance. I was bummed but still wanted to
get close enough to get pictures for my family to see. I explained that I had lived here, in the American School 20 years ago, and came all the way from America to see the hotel that I had lived in. Access granted!!! Well, I was escorted close enough to both to get good enough pictures. I was able to walk near our old school, where I also lived. It is now a personal business. The big toy that was once outside our school backdoor was gone. The pool had undergone a major remodel and looked great! The health club was amazing! They had a huge workout center, with many elliptical and treadmill machines and weights. There was a yoga room. I was thoroughly impressed. I walked around the hotel and took pictures of things that stayed the same and those that had changed. All the restaurants that were there before were either remodeled, in a different location or no longer there.
get close enough to get pictures for my family to see. I explained that I had lived here, in the American School 20 years ago, and came all the way from America to see the hotel that I had lived in. Access granted!!! Well, I was escorted close enough to both to get good enough pictures. I was able to walk near our old school, where I also lived. It is now a personal business. The big toy that was once outside our school backdoor was gone. The pool had undergone a major remodel and looked great! The health club was amazing! They had a huge workout center, with many elliptical and treadmill machines and weights. There was a yoga room. I was thoroughly impressed. I walked around the hotel and took pictures of things that stayed the same and those that had changed. All the restaurants that were there before were either remodeled, in a different location or no longer there. I grabbed my backpack, now heavier from the Starbucks city mugs, and asked the concierge 
where to buy a rice patty bag. They wrote in Chinese a typical market so that I could show a taxi, who could drive me. I jumped in a taxi and rode to the famous Xuexiu Park and Five-ram Statue. It was a place that I remember going to whenever people would come visit us. The Five-ram Statue is the scenic icon of Guangzhou, just as the Space Needle is for Seattle. It's actually the picture on the Starbucks city mug too ;-) I walked around, with my backpack on, and it was scorching hot!!! I ran out of my Nalgene water fast as I was sweating through my clothes. It was disgusting! When I arrived at the Five-ram Statue, I took off my backpack and took some pictures. This was when I realized I could ring out the back of my tank top, it was so wet!!! Not only was it hot, it was SO humid, hence the sweating. At the end of the day I looked at my salmon colored tank top and saw salt deposits from the sweat, on my tank. There has only been two times in my life that I've experienced salt deposits on my shirt from sweat: 1-when I ran my full marathon and 2-when I ran my 1/2 marathon. And now I'm in China, walking around. I leave the park and pass by the China Hotel, another hotel that many friends lived in 20 years ago. It too has a Starbucks, but this one is inside the hotel. There is a McDonald's just outside the hotel. I continue walking on, as the market I'm looking for should just be a few blocks away. I 
forgot that a "few blocks" away in China really means miles. Thinking I've arrived, I show the Chinese characters of the market to a security guard at a clothing mall where he points me in the direction I need to go. The other security guard points in the opposite direction. Luckily, a Chinese woman who speaks English walks by. She asks what I want to buy but they tell me to go to another market. They direct me to a taxi and tell the taxi where I want to go. I was SO thankful to be sitting down, backpack off, and in the air conditioning for just a few minutes... though I had NO idea where I was going! I tried to follow where the driver was taking me with my map, but I got lost and eventually gave up. I had my map, I knew my next destination, and I could just point to my map to another driver if I needed to. I will be alright.
where to buy a rice patty bag. They wrote in Chinese a typical market so that I could show a taxi, who could drive me. I jumped in a taxi and rode to the famous Xuexiu Park and Five-ram Statue. It was a place that I remember going to whenever people would come visit us. The Five-ram Statue is the scenic icon of Guangzhou, just as the Space Needle is for Seattle. It's actually the picture on the Starbucks city mug too ;-) I walked around, with my backpack on, and it was scorching hot!!! I ran out of my Nalgene water fast as I was sweating through my clothes. It was disgusting! When I arrived at the Five-ram Statue, I took off my backpack and took some pictures. This was when I realized I could ring out the back of my tank top, it was so wet!!! Not only was it hot, it was SO humid, hence the sweating. At the end of the day I looked at my salmon colored tank top and saw salt deposits from the sweat, on my tank. There has only been two times in my life that I've experienced salt deposits on my shirt from sweat: 1-when I ran my full marathon and 2-when I ran my 1/2 marathon. And now I'm in China, walking around. I leave the park and pass by the China Hotel, another hotel that many friends lived in 20 years ago. It too has a Starbucks, but this one is inside the hotel. There is a McDonald's just outside the hotel. I continue walking on, as the market I'm looking for should just be a few blocks away. I 
forgot that a "few blocks" away in China really means miles. Thinking I've arrived, I show the Chinese characters of the market to a security guard at a clothing mall where he points me in the direction I need to go. The other security guard points in the opposite direction. Luckily, a Chinese woman who speaks English walks by. She asks what I want to buy but they tell me to go to another market. They direct me to a taxi and tell the taxi where I want to go. I was SO thankful to be sitting down, backpack off, and in the air conditioning for just a few minutes... though I had NO idea where I was going! I tried to follow where the driver was taking me with my map, but I got lost and eventually gave up. I had my map, I knew my next destination, and I could just point to my map to another driver if I needed to. I will be alright. The driver stops, says something in Chinese, I pay and hop out, feeling refreshed from sitting down a while. I look around. There is nothing but watch shops... for blocks and blocks. How many people come here to buy a watch? It was crazy!!! I walk around, trying to find anything but a watch shop and eventually find a few shops that have luggage. I finally find a store that has a rice patty bag. I hand her the 5 RMB she wants. I went on this goose hunt for a bag that I paid less than a dollar for!
I jump in another taxi to head to a newer part of town. It's supposed to have newer hotels, business and shopping. I had heard of a restaurant that had great dim sum that I wanted to try. I end up on a street, not sure of where I was as I couldn't find any street signs. I keep walking, thinking I'll find a street sign and figure out where I am in order to find the restaurant. I just happen to look on the side of a building and see a sign for the restaurant. I found it! It was SO delicious! The menu was a little on the odd side, and since I had already experienced an unknown meat the day before, I decided to stick with the typical beef and carrot, similar to beef and broccoli dish. Of course dim sum was also ordered! After not eating well, or consistently for the past two days, this meal tasted SO good! I headed back out into the heat and humidity, with 2 hours before needing to be at the train station. There was a mall just a few blocks away. 45 minutes later, I arrive at the mall and it's another Friendship Store! I'm done. I was spent, I was tired. I had seen Guangzhou. I just needed to sit. I got in a taxi and drove off to the train station. The driver wanted to talk to me, but I didn't remember my Mandarin after not using it for 20 years. He asked me about Obama and I was able to respond. He asked me about Bush and I was able to respond. I had remembered how to say "not good" as "bu hao" and "very good" as "hen hao" in Mandarin... I let you decided which adjectives I matched up with which president. He thought it was funny, as he started to talk to me and then realized that all I remember how to say.
I arrive at the train station with a 2 hour wait. Guess what was there? A Starbucks! I'd have to say that I do love Starbucks, more than the average person, but I felt SO relieved and blessed to have a part of home, when I was so far away. There were many times that I was spent, and just needed to sit down and drink something and Starbucks was right there for me. I sat down in this Starbucks for 2 hours and read, waiting to go back to Hong Kong.
The trip back to Hong Kong was uneventful, showing off a gorgeous sunset beyond the Chinese countryside. I arrived back in Kowloon at 9pm, famished again and decided to splurge my last night in there. I went to the nearest McDonald's and walked to the Kowloon waterfront. I sat there amidst all the people who were there for the light show and ate McDonald's. It was a relaxing last dinner with beautiful scenery. I stepped onto the Starr Ferry for one last time and rode over to Hong Kong Island. I splurged again and got a taxi to head up to the house. It was late, I was tired and I had a lot of packing to do. I was leaving the next morning at 6am to head back to the states.
1 comment:
i got two rice patty bags in Hong Kong. :) I love those things... and I remember when I was in China feeling equally disgusting because of all the sweat! Ugh! But glad you got to go! :)
fun to hear your stories of where I have gone before!
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